The Magic Flute Mozart
For The Magic Flute, Mozart truly embraced his inner child and in Julie Taymor’s anything-ispossible production she reaches out to everyone’s inner child. A nine-metre serpent, towering polar bears and hundreds of props painstakingly hand-crafted bring a kaleidoscope of colour and whimsy to favourites like the stratospheric Queen of the Night’s Arias and Papageno’s cheery pipe song. The props department at Opera Australia is responsible for the manufacture of much of what you see on stage. While the production was first designed for New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the production you see here has been created a new, from the ground up, in Opera Australia’s set construction, props and wardrobe workshops. “There are small intimate hand puppets operated by the dancers very close around the performers, such as the silk-covered wireframed birds, all of them beautifully hand painted,” explains Mat Lawrence, head of props for the original build. “Then there’s the giant goose. It flies at about 4 metres off the ground. We use aluminium, carbon fibre and silk to make it as light as possible.”
If you go down to the woods today, you might find a pure-hearted prince and his feathered sidekick en route to rescue a damsel in distress; a queen atop her starry throne; mysterious temples, dancing bears and a levitating picnic. If in danger, just follow the sound of the flute. No, it’s not Disney – this is opera. Welcome to Mozart’s imagination-run-wild, in a playground on the path to enlightenment, brought to life with spellbinding costumes and effects from Julie Taymor, director of Broadway sensation Disney’s The Lion King.
Co-ordinating the construction was as full of challenges as Tamino’s quest to save Pamina: the set, costumes and props teams puzzled over how to make the ninemetre serpent’s turning circle as tight as possible, how to avoid injury to the dancers, and even how to fit the giant puppets in the wings when they were not in use. Above all, the Opera Australia build needed to be true to Julie Taymor’s unique aesthetic, a look which extends to every part of the show from costumes to props to hair and even make-up. “It’s a wonderful piece of theatre,” says resident director Matthew Barclay, “and it’s also a work of art in every dimension – costumes, puppetry, choreography, lighting and scenic design – they together create a magical storytelling world worthy of Mozart’s extraordinary musical imagination”.
Conductor Anthony Legge Director Matthew Barclay Originally directed by Julie Taymor Set Designer George Tsypin Costume Designer Julie Taymor Puppetry Designers Julie Taymor & Michael Curry Lighting Designer Gary Marder Original lighting design Donald Holder Choreographer Matthew Barclay Original choreography by Mark Dendy Translation by JD McClatchy Pamina Taryn Fiebig / Jane Ede Tamino John Longmuir / Jonathan Abernethy Papageno Andrew Jones / Samuel Dundas / Luke Gabbedy Queen of the Night Emma Pearson / Milica Ilic / Hannah Dahlenburg Sarastro Morris Robinson / Richard Anderson 1st Lady Jane Ede / Leah Thomas 2nd Lady Sian Pendry / Victoria Lambourn 3rd Lady Dominica Matthews Papagena Katherine Wiles Monostatos Kanen Breen Speaker Richard Anderson / Adrian Tamburini
Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra Opera Australia Chorus Evenings at 7:30pm January 10, 18, 30 February 1, 4, 7, 14, 22, 26 March 1, 6, 8, 13, 14, 21, 24, 26 Saturday matinees at 1pm January 11, 25 February 1, 15, 22 Weekday matinees at 11am January 21 March 26 Sunday matinee at 2pm March 16 Special price for children for matinees on Saturday 11, Tuesday 21 and Saturday 25 January and Wednesday 26 March: all reserves $49 for under 16 year olds. Running time: approx two hours with one twenty-minute interval. Performed in English with surtitles. Performed by arrangement with The Metropolitan Opera, publisher and sole copyright holder.
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